My name is ivory. I play Iona Starling and who has the risk of the shadow dragon from Dungeons and Dragons.
Rafa:All right. My name is Martin and I will be playing Rafa and he has to miss us of the amino terrorists from the Greek mythology.
Dr. Henry Edwards:My name is Chris and I play Dr. Henry Edwards, a riff of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Hello, my
Snyders Return:name is Adam. I am your MC and welcome to metallers. Monsters, a madman. Good evening. We are receiving reports of an explosion in the heart of the blue collar district. Our sources are yet to confirm the cause of the blast. But we can go now to Nikki live at the scene.
Nikki-Beholder to No One:Thanks, Ethan. A short time ago a huge fireball ripped out of the front of an old building behind me. Emergency crews are trying their hardest to rescue casualties and bring the inferno under control. Although no one has been able to identify the cause of this exclusion is believed that several people were killed in the initial blast with more casualties are expected in local hospitals are put on high alert. Thanks, Nikki. We'll be coming back to you for updates soon. Well, my last thing I remember I was gonna sleep just need to get out of here.
Snyders Return:As night is descending upon the city, from where each of you are currently residing, the explosion rings out from downtown massive fireball that illuminates the sky in the area, a shockwave that ripples through the buildings lifting cars, some enough to be heavily burned and sort of pushed out of out of place in the street. mass casualties sort of moving up into the air getting an overhead shot of what's happening sort of moving away from the billowing smoke as it lifts up from this, this devastation and panning back we start to hear sirens, weaving in and out on city streets and on the main roads sort of racing to get to the scene of of this devastation. But we find ourselves in a low a brief gap as each of you take a moment to assess what is happening just across the city from some of you a little bit further for others. You dr Edwards had received a phone call from Dr. Adams requesting you come and discuss a certain project or topic refer you were busying yourself at your job you're out and about or you are at home.
Unknown:I was going for a walk then I got an email with Project victim
Snyders Return:so you were out in the streets when you sort of towing siding with this explosion taking place. And by owner you were far across the city in in Woods going through some sort of practising some skills in the old Woods at the far side of the of the city. That is where we pick up which of you would like to act first. Start Okay, so, a doctor you have just received a phone call from Dr. Adams asking you to come to helix labs headquarters to discuss an issue with Project vector II camera class of the doctor holding the phone near his mouth and he says I'll be along shortly just to deal with clean up on this project. closes the phone and do a fade to wipe to the helix lab headquarters, where Dr. Edwards is waiting impatiently, rather aggravated that a man of his stature, a literal department head is being paid to wait discuss something was constructed, come and discuss, essentially immediately. How does Dr. Edwards get across town? What's your mode of transportation? He has a company car. So as you manoeuvre your car through the streets, across the bridges and down towards the industrial zone, you hear the sirens, the smoke, sort of, and the heat of the fire. still burning off to to your soul out of your left hand window as you drive through the city. You can see and hear fire engines and a load of police cars moving through into that general area. And you do notice a darker van with more sort of chunkier sort of off road style tires that ever so slightly as it sort of moves past you and turns down a side road or has the helix labs logo sort of. On the side of it. I was going to give it some clever name, but just sort of printed on the side of it very subtly, but it is there. And as you approach the building, there's sort of a whole whirlwind of activity in the foyer and the receptionist clearly knows who you are, apologises to you. Good evening, Dr. Edwards. Yes, yes. Good evening. I believe I'm expected. Yes. Dr. Adams is she's just on our way down. It won't be a minute. And obviously sort of happening there's there's sort of various members of staff and you do see a couple of other people in in more like sort of SWAT gear come sort of striding through the foyer, a from from a sort of side corridor, and then out the main entrance and disappearing into the night sky. As you wait not much longer, just behind the reception desk where we're sort of waiting, I was gonna say held but where you're waiting, you hear the elevator being open. And Dr. Adams is stood just inside the elevator. And she sort of beckoned you over
Dr. Henry Edwards:Dr. Adams prompt as ever se in the future. If you're going to summon me from a home, I expect you to be waiting for me when I arrived.
Snyders Return:I apologise Dr. Edwards. But someone has to keep Dr. Leland informed and try and sort out Dr. Drake's mess. If you'd like to follow me, please. And he will step into the elevator. All right. As you step into the elevator, she clicks one of the buttons for a floor plan you're familiar with, because it's where your main work offices and as the doors slide shut. Who is going to act
Iona Starling:next? Um, can I do that? Please do. Um, anyway. So I think we ended last session with Iona frantically calling her brother to make sure he's okay. And you left off on a cliffhanger.
Snyders Return:So as I only you sort of start making your way out of the old woods, and then back towards the city proper. You're phoning Tobia and initially it sort of just rings rings out that there's no sort of pick up no answer. You can see as you sort of clear the wooded area over the top of the village and most of the the districts that sort of separate you from from this Bible that you've you've been able to see even at this great distance this billowing tower of smoke there's there's a long, quite a long way to get from from you to where your brother is in that general vicinity. So there's an answer. It's going to go to voicemail. Not right now he doesn't.
Iona Starling:atmosphere smooth of course is to get to a place far enough from the city far enough from the trees to try and be able to have enough room to to take flight and head right over there as fast as you can.
Snyders Return:Alright. So it doesn't take you long to find a bit of a clearing between the old wood and and before you sort of get into the village proper to find like a, a small park area that's sort of big enough to accommodate, you know, a small, a small fair, a small festival, almost, for you to find the space to go into this fall. Would you mind describing it for us,
Iona Starling:the park, your form, oh my form. Um, so she says it's not like one second she's human and the next second sheet of Dragon it's as if it becomes enveloped in this sort of smoke like shadow. And it increases in size and shape building up until we finally solidifies into the floor. A dragon is fairly large 2030 feet, blender, not not very heavily built a long sharp claws, a narrow, elegant snout, with a crust of spines down her down her back and around her head. She has these I'm almost like the the crest that a triceratops has around her phone just in front of that those crest of springs. And long dragon horns, almost like icicles, icicles sticking out from behind her head. or her tail is within and her wings don't seem particularly solid, they almost seem like they trail smoke upon themselves. And our eyes are the black on white, black on silver, but this time they're slid through. Pretty scary looking, but also kind of elegant, like there's a certain of grace and how she moves like like like almost like a cobra or snake. When she pushes off to the ground. It's certainly not quite enough to say it's stealthy, but she's not nearly as loud or as substantial that she should be in reality.
Snyders Return:So slight sound rings out, maybe a sort of a bit of a deep crack as you sort of push off the ground. And then saw the area for solid just for the sound of your wings as you lift and take up over the top of the city now giving you that elevated look across the skyline. And across the way you can see and it's at this point, as you move up, you can now see that where this fire in the smoke is actually sort of emanating from is behind your brother's hospital. It's not the hospital where your brother works, it's not the same location,
Iona Starling:she still directs herself directly towards the hospital. That's That's her main priority. already ready?
Snyders Return:What happens to your personal possessions when you enter this form?
Iona Starling:They're there. Well, it's not like she comes out in in she can carry very small amounts of items can be brought into the form say clothes or what can be finished the pockets, but you certainly can carry like a briefcase into the form or something and then keep it out for people. Right.
Snyders Return:So as you sort of are whistling through the night sky, your your dark, dark form sort of disappearing and against the the hue the light hue that comes off of a city of this size. You sort of slipping through the shadows left by the large populace below. And you get probably about two thirds of the way there. And you you feel the vibration that the ringing of your of your phone about your person.
Iona Starling:She lands wherever she can. By this point she's learned that no one can see her besides other riffs. Though she lands just in the first immediate place big enough to support her weight, changes back to human and grabs her phone.
Snyders Return:It's your MC Adam here just taking a break from the case momentarily to let you know about our great friends in the tabletop role playing game community and the ttrpg So the following is a short trailer for one of our many friends. don't check them out. Follow the links in the description below to go and give their show and listen, engage with them and engage with us. We'd love to have you back as the cases continue to progress. Speaking of which, let's get back to the action.
Unknown:The steam rollers adventure podcast is an actual place steampunk comedy adventure role playing game podcast Season One, the defectors. He's gone and another guy appears in this place. Oh, yeah. So he was saying she looks at you and she goes, I was going to say hi. Season to the principal engine. Hey, you got the girl. Give me the board. She's 14. Yeah, I didn't have all my horses five. What's the season three, the Great War on a random private random dunk. The ball gunner, but I'm also the engineer. Good to see somebody who's working on pixelation. Brad's gonna yell from the inside. I think it looks bad on the outside. I love this crew. Find the show at steamrollers adventure. podcast.lipson.com, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and your RSS player of choice. Find out more about the show at Riggs stories.com
Snyders Return:as you answer it, it's your your brother He sounds sounds a little bit distraught. Should we say you can just sense it in his voice? Toby, are you okay? I'm fine. But there's been an explosion there's you've got so many casualties coming in. We've we've had to bring in down the surgeons to to the ER just to try and I couldn't get to my phone before. I'm sorry. But
Iona Starling:it's okay. Listen. I can see I can see it from here. Okay. Listen, I know you want to kind of probably go in there and help you blind I need you to stay away right now. Okay, I you can't you can't get into trouble now. Okay.
Snyders Return:I don't have this. You know, I can go out with one of the paramedic crews I can go out with with one of the parties. I can I can help. You know.
Iona Starling:We don't know right now what's going on? Okay, there could still be danger there. My first priority is you for anyone else.
Snyders Return:All right. I'll stay here and work in the pit and I'll do what I can. As I say that they've got all hands the record but some of these people seriously hurt.
Iona Starling:Look, wherever you're wherever, wherever you've been dragged away from the fire, but just stay there. Okay, I'm coming towards you.
Snyders Return:I don't know. I've got to go. Stay safe. All right, on the phone. Goes dead on.
Iona Starling:He's cursing and she's cursing on her breath and she's pulling up I guess then her. I guess her next one would be she calls up Rafa to check on him.
Snyders Return:Rafa, you are having a quick look at this, this email you received. opening it. The project vector question mark is sort of scanning down through your phone, or your on your phone, your tablet, I'm on my phone. Scrolling down through your phone, there's a logo for a company named global genetics. And then underneath there, just towards like the footer, almost of this email is project vector, question mark. And then there doesn't seem to be immediately seems to be a source. But while you're sort of spending time taking that information in your phone begins to ring.
Unknown:I pick up and I'll probably see that it's Iona. And I'll be like, hey, Elena. Last time I checked, you didn't have a dragon's breath. Did you just develop one? Didn't you see the explosion? Yeah, that's what I mean. Like Dragon's Breath, fire or whatever. Are you fine? Yeah, you're you're you're funny. Yeah, I'm fine. Are you? Yeah, I'm not close to the explosion, but I'm going to check it out. What are you doing? Where are you
Iona Starling:supposed to see those pharmacies? There's literally anything I can do. They just okay. I'll check on the doctor if he's willing to answer. Pretty sure he won't. But you know, more useful to us alive than dead. You just, just don't go near the fire. Okay. Don't don't don't be dumb. Don't Be Dumb.
Unknown:Do you have any information about fire? on here? I, Anna?
Iona Starling:I don't know. I just got into contact with Tokyo. He said, there's casualties everywhere. He it's about whatever it is. It was bad. But I know I don't know right now what's going on?
Unknown:Well, whenever stuff like this happens in the city is normally people like us who are involved. So I am sure as hell going there. I would like to tell you to stay away. But I guess. See you soon.
Snyders Return:Good luck with that. That's right. So as you to have this conversation. As the elevator sort of comes to a stop, man, you you get out your your floor you're very familiar with it's it's sort of the main boardroom, your office is on this floor. A few other members of staff have offices in and around this floor, nowhere near the size of yours or with the the access. But Dr. Adams needs you into a conference room. This way. Please, Dr. Edwards. Colleagues, we've, before I speak to Professor Leland, this seems to be a oversight. After Dr. Drake has left the company so to speak. We thought we captured all of his work. Unfortunately, this one slipped through the net that Dr. Drake has been quite sporadic with his file keeping. And so we are hoping, or I am hoping at least you can fill in some of the gaps on project vector since Dr. Drake did work for you as head of r&d. I see. And what gaps required filling in? Well, we know that he was doing some blood work. And we know that he had acquired the property in that district. But we were never able to get some of his results. We were just wondering if maybe you had been privy to his work, and maybe failed to inform the rest of us of what the good Dr. Drake had been up to. So who's in the room at the moment? It's just the two of you. So it's just me and who and Dr. Adams, Dr. Michelle Adams, there are other people moving through the corridors sort of some going about their sort of lab technician lives, following up on various projects that you oversee. Others are both trying to pull things together for the pair of you to look at
Dr. Henry Edwards:so the camera pulls a tight close up on dark Dr. Edwards mouth, as Dr. Adams is saying all this and with every word she says his lips pull thinner and tighter, increasingly parsed. And when she finishes, he clears his throat and raises his voice just enough so that anyone in the society can hear not making a scene but certainly making an example. Dr. Adams, I feel you are perhaps labouring under a misapprehension as the nature of our work relationship, you see the deputy in your title as deputy head of business development means that I have never failed to tell you anything. I cannot fail to anything because I am the one who decides what aspects of the company you need to know about outside of the tasks I have given you. I understand that things are stressful right now. And for that reason, I am not going to terminate your contract on the spot. However should you ever take certainly Support Nutan with me again, I will personally see to your termination and disposal. Am I understood?
Snyders Return:Doctor was it was Professor Leland himself that hired me somehow your promotion? section head is merely a timely oversight. I have built much with these hands. You see, as she sort of says this and and is trying her best not to give an inch, that she's very much sort of maintaining a professional, stern exterior. But as she sort of speaks to us she's gesticulating gesticulating, with with some amount of passion when she says I have made things. And she turns to you and says, oh, the information we have on project factors is being gathered. Would you take a seat before our conference call with Professor Leland,
Dr. Henry Edwards:I will be discussing with Dr. Leyland any issues discussed, you will return to the department. Do your job. ideas of being included in discussions above your current station. Regardless of the context, my promotion are entirely not your concern.
Snyders Return:And before you decide to argue, keep in mind that that is an order. And you can hear of visibly suck air in over her teeth as though resigned to the fact that she doesn't currently have a way out of this situation that favours her. She sucks that Aaron Takes a Breath. We have our own ways of achieving our research Dr. I'm sure your methods are no better than mine. But as you as you have ordered, and she says with almost a flippant tone, I will return and see what I can gather on project vector and the mistakes that Dr. Drake has left behind.
Dr. Henry Edwards:Yes, you do that and while you do keep in mind that we are none of us are immune to the consequences of failure, as Dr. Drake has experienced. Perhaps I should send Mr. Hyde to have a conversation with you the sub, you have your Lucky's
Snyders Return:and I have mine Dr. Excuse me. And as she leaves and we've sort of follow around to the corridor, SAT or stood down and off to one side is a sort of male and female who she gives a sort of known glance to in a sort of a head flick. And they begin to sort of accompany her down the corridor and into the the deeper recesses of helix labs. Edwards sort of smirks as she goes off.
Dr. Henry Edwards:He can feel the weight of the inhaler in his lab coat pocket. And all through the conversation. He was sorely tempted just take a puff and squeeze the life out of this miserable little creature of Dr. Leyland's but unlike the insubordinate Dr. Adams he understands the nature of the long game.
Snyders Return:Well, while you are sat there, we will hop back to refer and Iona attempting to get in contact with you.
Unknown:Wow. Just like small comment, wow. Wow. Whoa.
Iona Starling:Not exactly a healthy work environment. If I say so myself. Oh, cool. Um, now, this might count as making, but I'm not sure how spicy Oh, I want to be on the end of that on the other Dr. Edwards after that, you know who call him
Unknown:as spicy as your character would be. Oh, have the logical interaction as a result. Okay. She, he calls you does she have a number? Did you give her a number? Should have a number. Okay she calls the the number that she has. Okay. Dr. Edwards My name is the phone. And since Dr. Leyland hasn't arrived yet he answers yes. Are you alive? I'm not even going to dignify that with a response Why would I be hurt? Because there was a fireball. Are you hurt? No,
Dr. Henry Edwards:I'm not hurt. It's a big city. And not everything goes wrong has anything to do with me. Okay, and she hangs up we stay with sorry you did the bare minimum you know
Snyders Return:we stayed with Iona and Rafa What are you guys doing now you've you've spoken inverted commas to the doctor
Unknown:oh we have met and I are kind of near the fire I guess. Yeah.
Iona Starling:Yeah, I probably would have Yeah, yeah. Is there a river I was like,
Snyders Return:like anywhere close by the is you know a sewer network but a river not so much. There's the main river that sort of cuts through the city with the the main bridges across there's the streams and things down where you were at suburbia in the village and up but here in the blue collar it's it's pretty much built up and storm drains and and sewer systems is about as close you're gonna get to a river.
Iona Starling:Right? So it's like, nowhere close by, right? No, okay, that's my plan. Um, she probably take a few circles in the air around where the fire happened to see if to see if you can gain anything from from the sky first before she gets close.
Snyders Return:On leaving rattle behind, we'll find out what Russia is doing in the meantime leaving raft behind on the ground as you resend and again the whale of the sirens the flashing lights that the what is now starting to die now there are multiple fire crews fire houses that have turned out to deal with this. There is police so the police lights and sirens you can see them sort of setting up barriers and patrol. Officers are sort of keeping back crowds and the BMT teams are shuttling from this height is hard to tell if they're casualties or or fatalities but they are no loading up beds and shuffling shifting out forms to whichever hospital they can they can get to be the one your brother's out or one of the others across across the city. Part of the panda Lauria health clinic setup and you do notice the singular black Van waggon thing that sort of stands apart which stands out from where you are on this elevated position
Iona Starling:so just to confirm she she can't see anyone like in the building right there's too much smoke and fire right?
Snyders Return:Yeah, you can't hear because you're you're too high up and with the noise of the sirens and everything else going on you it's not like you can hear it on calling for help either. You can see the fire crews moving in and out sort of getting on on air and swapping out the teams and they're doing it's almost like watching sort of demonstration happening underneath you with with the way the cruiser sort of setting up and knocking holes for the event paths and things like that. They seem to be having it in hand. But he's just a lot that's going on. Just in this this small area. You can see the debris across the roads that the damage against the buildings opposite where this fire is his car currently raging, though being attacked by the fire crews.
Iona Starling:I can't imagine she could do anything. But she's not a firefighter so they will let her get close. As a human, and you know, like, as a dragon she just might cause more harm than good like what if she knocked something over and just causes the whole building to go collapsing? So she knows the blocks and right you don't to see yes. Um, does it does it seem to be someone like like from from my point of view like how is it driving like where is it driving?
Snyders Return:It's parked it's currently sort of parked up several 100 feet back down the road there seems to be a small cluster of individuals should very close to it that seem to be wearing some sort of body armour and you can you know, you know what a fireman looks like in their in their rig you know what a police officer looks like in their uniform. This seems to have a very different style of of outfit as they sort of muster close into this van very perceptively very consciously looking down the road towards this burning smouldering building or be like Rafa Rumsey where you like on the sea rapa? Where are you? What do you do? Well, I owner has taken flight and is having a look, you've sort of tracked her up into the sky above the scene. What is it you're doing?
Unknown:I will go close to probably wherever the police have slugging us out. And do I know what building this was or who it belonged to?
Snyders Return:It's not immediately obvious who belong to it looks like a pretty generic a shopfront or, or something like that just a, a structure that looks like it belongs. It doesn't look like a like a tenement building or some sort of housing structure. It very much looks commercial in its construction. But it's sort of bland, stock looking commercial building number number one kind of thing
Unknown:than the first I think I would do. Oh, no, it is to my to my hectic. It was not directly to some of them. But not all of
Snyders Return:my other two.
Unknown:Yeah. Did your network of agents kind of watch your activists? Where we can exchange? Yes. It's mainly means moving.
Snyders Return:Yeah. No. questionable means. Yeah. Alright, so don't investigate didn't mean? Yeah, your phone's just go off. And this message from us,
Unknown:one for our network of agents. It's an act, right? formation,
Snyders Return:you get about defending glue equal to the power. It's kind of responsible for us here. So what's your What's your question? What's your clue you're after?
Unknown:Yeah, basically, who who's building as this.
Snyders Return:So it takes a bit of time. For your your information, you get that sort of typical thing where about four people start to type and nobody finishes actually sending a message. And then two or three others sort of you get that sort of typing bar that appears in certain messages, or drops off, and then you get one reply. That sort of pings up on your phone, and the information comes across as global genetics. Thanks for listening. You can find out more about the show, including our interview episodes via our link tree or at our website at www dot Snow's return.squarespace.com please consider leaving us a review. City of mist is a ttrpg by Sun. You can find out more about city mist by going to www dot city of mist dot c Oh, music and sound effects for this episode from epidemic sounds.com. The intro and outro music were composed by Chloe Elliot. You can find her on Twitter at Khloe underscore with the flow. The logo was designed by Jessie Lowe. You can find her artwork on Twitter at akkad Nomi underscore art. We're going to use our help points and be ready to investigate next time on meddlers monsters a madman